A Story about a Farmer^(A)

4 Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. ² He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.

While he was teaching them, he said, ³ “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. ⁴ Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. ⁷ Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. ⁸ But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”

A Story about a Mustard Seed^(A)

³⁰ Jesus asked, “How can we show what God’s kingdom is like? To what can we compare it? ³¹ It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth. ³² However, when planted, it comes up and becomes taller than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that birds can nest in its shade.”